Romania finds suspected Russian drone fragments on its territory near Ukraine border

Romania on Saturday (September 9) said that new fragments of a drone similar to those used by the Russian military were found on the NATO member’s territory across the border from Ukraine. The Romanian president called the incident unacceptable and said he had informed the NATO chief about the same who reiterated his support for Bucharest.

What did Romania find?

Romaniasaid that its soldiers found fragments of a drone “similar to those used by the Russian Army”.

The defence ministry said the country’s naval forces were deployed after local officials alerted them to suspected drone fragments discovered 2.5 kilometres southeast of the village of Plauru.

The village is across the Danube river and from the Ukrainian port of Izmail. “In the search, fragments of a drone similar to those used by the Russian army were discovered,” said the Romanian defence ministry, in a statement.

Finding of the fragments also comes days after reported drone debris was disovered in that area some kilometres away from Saturday’s find.

The fragments have since been picked up for analysis, the statement added. Notably, this is the second suspected Russian drone piece found in Romanian territory this week.

Romanian president talks to NATO chief

President Klaus Iohannis said that he had informed NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about the drone pieces and the latter reiterated the United States-led military alliance’s complete solidarity with Romania.

“The identification by Romanian authorities on Romanian territory near the border with Ukraine of new drone fragments...indicates an unacceptable breach occurred of the air space of Romania, a NATO state, with real risks to the security of Romanian citizens in the area,” said Iohannis.

He added, “I firmly condemn this incident caused by Russian attacks on Ukrainian Danube river ports.”

Meanwhile, Stoltenberg said Russian strikes near the border were “destabilising” even though they were not directed or intended to hit a NATO member.

Earlier this week, the US State Department said it would rotate additional F-16 fighter jets to bolster NATO’s air policing mission in Romania.

The first discovery of possible drone debris came on Wednesday (Sep 6) after Ukraine alleged on Monday that drones detonated in Romania during an overnight Russian air strike on Izmail. The NATO member initially denied the reports before saying that they found pieces on Wednesday.

Ukrainian shelling kills one in Donetsk: Russian-installed mayor

Russian-installed Donetsk Mayor Alexei Kulemzin, on Saturday (Sep 9) said that a civilian was killed and one person wounded in a Ukrainian shelling of the city. He also reported damage to a number of buildings and several city districts.

Donetsk is one of four regions in Ukraine that Russia partly occupies and has claimed as its own territory, in a move that has been widely condemned as illegal in the United Nations General Assembly.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on Ukraine-Russia war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

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